Imposters again target NYC Apple Store, pilfer $16,000 in iPhones
New York's Apple Stores have been hit by a rash of burglaries perpetrated by thieves employee lookalikes, the latest heist seeing more than $16,000 worth of iPhones swiped from the company's swanky SoHo outlet.
The New York Police Department said a man dressed in an outfit similar to Apple Store's regulation blue T-shirt waltzed into a back-of-store repair workroom at Apple's SoHo store on June 1, and snatched 19 iPhones valued at $16,130, reports DNAinfo. The hardware was passed off to an accomplice who made off with the loot hidden under his own faux Apple Store blues.
Filching nearly 20 iPhones -- likely flipped for filthy, filthy lucre -- in a single day is bold, but as Gizmodo notes, the recent thievery might be the latest in a string of heists. Earlier this year the New York Post reported on a small gang of thieves who hit the Upper West Side Apple Store twice in as many months.
Similar to the SoHo job, a woman disguised as an Apple Store worker snuck eight iPhones out of the UWS store in February. Two male partners in crime aided and abetted -- one caused a distraction while the other was posted as a lookout. The trio returned to that same store in March and managed to stuff another 59 iPhones into a duffel bag before arousing the suspicion of employees. The 67 stolen iPhones were valued at some $49,300, the report said.
It is unclear why Apple Stores are falling prey to the employee imposter gambit, but some speculate the company's recent change in uniform code is to blame. When retail chief Angela Ahrendts came on board, one of her first items of business was to unify store dress code by reinstating the iconic blue employee T-shirt with small white Apple logo. Although variations are permitted -- short sleeve, long sleeve, crew neck and polo shirt -- employees are obliged to wear the same dark blue apparel year round, making it easier for criminals to create copycat designs. AppleInsider was first to report on the "Back to Blue...But All New" policy last year.
The New York Police Department said a man dressed in an outfit similar to Apple Store's regulation blue T-shirt waltzed into a back-of-store repair workroom at Apple's SoHo store on June 1, and snatched 19 iPhones valued at $16,130, reports DNAinfo. The hardware was passed off to an accomplice who made off with the loot hidden under his own faux Apple Store blues.
Filching nearly 20 iPhones -- likely flipped for filthy, filthy lucre -- in a single day is bold, but as Gizmodo notes, the recent thievery might be the latest in a string of heists. Earlier this year the New York Post reported on a small gang of thieves who hit the Upper West Side Apple Store twice in as many months.
Similar to the SoHo job, a woman disguised as an Apple Store worker snuck eight iPhones out of the UWS store in February. Two male partners in crime aided and abetted -- one caused a distraction while the other was posted as a lookout. The trio returned to that same store in March and managed to stuff another 59 iPhones into a duffel bag before arousing the suspicion of employees. The 67 stolen iPhones were valued at some $49,300, the report said.
It is unclear why Apple Stores are falling prey to the employee imposter gambit, but some speculate the company's recent change in uniform code is to blame. When retail chief Angela Ahrendts came on board, one of her first items of business was to unify store dress code by reinstating the iconic blue employee T-shirt with small white Apple logo. Although variations are permitted -- short sleeve, long sleeve, crew neck and polo shirt -- employees are obliged to wear the same dark blue apparel year round, making it easier for criminals to create copycat designs. AppleInsider was first to report on the "Back to Blue...But All New" policy last year.
Comments
It's pretty clear. They're falling prey because the scam works and is pretty easy to pull off.
Why there is not the appropriate form of security in place that would stop, just this kind of scam, is what is not clear.
Yeah I don't know why they don't have a door card reader to the back room? Not only are stock back there, but also customer's devices for repair as well which could just as easily be stolen (with all of their personal data on it BTW). Also, why aren't the phones and all other stock locked up in a cage all day. It takes 2 seconds to unlock a cage to get an iPhone or a MacBook, etc for a customer should they want to buy one. Little things could prevent things like this from happening.
I would think Apple would have a list of the stolen phones pretty quickly and deactivate them so when turned on they cannot be activated by Apple, rendering them useless. People are just stupid and don't think of stuff like this. I seriously doubt those phones will be of any use and the sad part is, it won't matter because they'll just sell them on eBay, get their money and people like you and I will be the one suffering from it.
Image if they guy who pulled off the who no pants on the subway prnak along with show up to Best Buy in the blue shirts did the same thing at an Apple store all the confusion it would cause and would make it easy for anyone to walk out with product.
I would say these are inside jobs as well, walking in the back and locating product and not drawing attention means they had some ideal how things work in the store.
Maybe Apple could make good use of Touch I.D. here.
Get hired to work at an Apple Store, give them one finger print, and depending on the position/job that day the fingerprint would only unlock the proper cages/areas for access.
Just a thought.
Also, the Soho store usually has an Apple employee at the front door and I believe that the Apple store entrances have security tag readers. If people come walking in with employee shirts on, why aren't they questioned or at least watched? And how did the phones not trigger the security system unless the thieves also had access to the device that renders the trigger mute?
I have to believe these were inside jobs or they were assisted by actual employees. If Apple goes to the trouble of keeping phones in a back room rather than on a shelf or behind the registers (although most transactions take place on portable devices), why isn't there better security in the back room? Apple might not be able to prevent some idiot from crashing their car through the front of a store, but they can certainly prevent these kinds of walk-in thefts. And for the crappy retail pay, why don't they have an employee doing nothing but security on that room? Seems baffling.